AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show here in New York, where the top federal prosecutor and five other high-ranking Justice Department officials have resigned, refusing to implement the Trump administration’s order to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

In a stunning letter, the acting interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, said dropping the case against Mayor Adams would be, quote, “inconsistent with my ability and duty to prosecute federal crimes without fear or favor and to advance good-faith arguments before the courts,” unquote.

Sassoon was appointed by Trump, is a longtime member of the Federalist Society, and she clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Sassoon’s letter was addressed to acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who was one of President Trump’s defense attorneys in his New York state criminal trial last year. Bove sent the memo Monday ordering the charges to be dismissed because they, quote, “unduly restricted Mayor Adams’s ability to devote full attention and resources,” unquote, to help with Trump’s immigration crackdown.

In her letter, Sassoon said Adams and his lawyers, quote, “repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo.”

After Sassoon refused to drop the charges, Justice Department officials moved the case from New York to the Public Integrity Section in the Criminal Division of the Justice Department, that led to more prosecutors resigning.

This all came after Adams met Thursday with Trump’s so-called border czar Tom Homan to discuss the possible reopening of an ICE office inside New York’s Rikers Island jail. Protesters rallied in Manhattan to condemn ICE. This is a Nicaraguan asylum seeker.

NICARAGUAN ASYLUM SEEKER: [translated] I’m a Nicaraguan citizen. I came to this country looking for opportunity, the opportunity that was taken away from me in my country, the opportunity for freedom of speech and to work here and to be a contributing citizen. The U.S. has taken away the liberty that Nicaragua has also taken away. All I ask for is freedom.

AMY GOODMAN: For more, we’re joined by Ron Kuby, criminal defense and civil rights lawyer based here in New York.

Well, this is amazing. It seems to be almost an echo of the Saturday Night Massacre, when Nixon tried to get his way with the Justice Department. We’ll talk about that in a minute. But explain the significance of the interim U.S. attorney in New York of the Southern District, often called the “Sovereign District,” and the significance of that, her resigning followed by five other top attorneys.

RON KUBY: Well, at the outset, it’s an illustration that you don’t have to comply under these circumstances. Rather than become a Trump toady, which is one option, you can quit your job. And obviously, Danielle Sassoon has many other opportunities awaiting her. She was clearly a rising star on the right, until she ran afoul of the Trump administration on this issue. And so, it’s a good illustration for people who are considering their career over the next four years, for them to say, federal prosecutors to say, “You know what? I’m just not going to go along with this. I am going to resign. I’m not going to carry out these duties.” And it illustrates sort of a hollowing out of the more competent attorneys in the Justice Department, which just makes it that much harder for the Trump administration to sort of carry out its agenda against activists, against public officials and against other people who cross it.

AMY GOODMAN: I mean, this is amazing. In her letter to Attorney General Pamela Bondi a day before, Sassoon argued “the law does not support a dismissal,” adding she’s “confident that Adams has committed the crimes with which he is charged.” She also accused Adams’s lawyers of, quote, “repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating … Adams would be in a position to assist with [the] Department’s enforcement priorities only if the indictment [was] dismissed.” Explain what it means to be dismissed without prejudice, that every day if Adams doesn’t do what Trump wants — for example, around immigration — the case could be brought back against him.

RON KUBY: That’s right. This is the sort of club hanging over the head of Mayor Adams throughout the rest of his tenure as mayor. And even if he does do what they want, they could still bring back the charges. This is not an administration that’s known for its consistency or loyalty. But clearly he knows that he has to get on board; otherwise, he may be on a train to some federal prison. And that’s explicit in the directions given by the Justice Department. And you can see Adams racing to comply. I mean, the quo was being supplied really fast after the quid here.

AMY GOODMAN: I mean, that’s really important. Yesterday, you have Sassoon saying this is a quid pro quo, and she said the top Justice Department official under Bondi — right? — and let’s remember, Emil Bove was the personal attorney for Trump — as well as the man who looks like he’s about to be confirmed, who will be right above him, Todd Blanche, in a meeting, who took away the notes of the lawyers, the lawyers who took notes — she said it was extremely clear that he wanted Adams to engage in this quid pro quo. So, yesterday, you have a meeting with Homan saying he’s instituting an ICE office in Rikers Island.

RON KUBY: So, the Justice Department, historically, has always carried out the policies of the president of the United States. You go all the way back to the 1950s during the Red Scare, the Southern District executed the Rosenbergs. You can go through COINTELPRO in the '60s. In the ’80s, the sanctuary prosecutions initiated by Reagan, Bush's invasion of Panama to arrest Manuel Noriega. You know, some administrations do more, some administrations do less, but it’s always political.

So, you know, to that extent, this is not unusual. But what makes this different is it’s explicit. At least in the past, the Justice Department went to pains to say, “This is not a political decision. We are making these decisions solely on the basis of the law. We don’t initiate or decline prosecutions based on the political policies of the people who are being targeted,” etc., etc. There’s no fig leaf anymore.

AMY GOODMAN: So, let’s go back to what was known as the Saturday Night Massacre. During a single evening on Saturday, October 20th — what was this? — 1973, Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Archibald Cox, who was the special prosecutor investigating Watergate. Richardson refused and resigned. So Nixon then ordered Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to fire Cox. He refused. And then he ordered the Solicitor General Robert Bork to fire Cox. He agreed.

RON KUBY: And Robert Bork never lived down that particular bit of ignominy. That’s the reason he never became a Supreme Court justice, because of his role in that. And here, eventually, sooner or later, as you go through the Southern District, you will find some lawyer willing to file a motion with the court to dismiss these charges.

AMY GOODMAN: So, they might file. I mean, it could be Emil Bove himself or some guy from or woman from somewhere else in the country who comes in to argue. But couldn’t the judge refuse?

RON KUBY: In theory, the judge can refuse to dismiss the charges, because that’s always up to judicial discretion. But if the judge refuses, then what? The Justice Department says, “We are not prosecuting. We are not going forward. So, OK, dismiss, don’t dismiss, but nothing is happening with this case.” And eventually, the defense would move to dismiss on speedy trial grounds, and that would have to be granted. So, this is effectively going to be the end of the case, once the administration finds somebody sufficiently spineless to actually file the papers.

AMY GOODMAN: So, New York City doesn’t have a recall, but New York Governor Kathy Hochul has the power to remove New York City Mayor Eric Adams. She spoke on MSNBC on Rachel Maddow’s show last night.

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL: This is not supposed to happen in our system of justice. The Bondi administration in that Department of Justice is already showing they’re corrupt. Now, set that aside. I did see the letter that was issued by the acting United States attorney. The allegations are extremely concerning and serious.

RACHEL MADDOW: Yes, yes.

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL: But I cannot, as the governor of this state, have a knee-jerk, politically motivated reaction, like a lot of other people are saying right now. I have to do what’s smart, what’s right, and I’m consulting with other leaders in government at this time.

AMY GOODMAN: So, Ron Kuby, your response to the governor? What does that mean?

RON KUBY: Yeah, it means “I’m not removing him now. I may remove him in the future. I may not. I have to have a lot of discussions and conferences. You don’t want me just going off and doing something like that just because of all of this, the kind of unraveling of the rule of law. I need to take some time and think.” Doesn’t mean anything. It’s sort of typical Governor Hochul when she’s confronted with an unpleasant reality.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, we will see what happens and, of course, follow it in the coming days. Ron Kuby, criminal defense and civil rights lawyer based here in New York.

Next up, to Germany, where protests are planned against the Munich Security Conference. Vice President Vance is there. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is there. We’ll speak with the former Greek finance minister, who will be leading one of the protests. Stay with us.